Key to victory @ Seattle

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; The key to Seattle is Alexander! Stopping him is #1 then we gotta ruff up Hasselback and the rest will be up to AB gettin the ball to our guys and puttin up 1st Downs. I want to see some ...

The key to Seattle is Alexander! Stopping him is #1 then we gotta ruff up Hasselback and the rest will be up to AB gettin the ball to our guys and puttin up 1st Downs. I want to see some swagger and confidence. I can\'t wait to see Horn break bad on them young CB\'s and puttin up some points. Deuce will bust a long one... er two. I N T E N S I T Y !!
E X E C U T I O N !!

Billy, you hit the nail on the head defensively in this game, and just about every game this year. If we don\'t force throws we will get picked apart by Seattle. Robinson, Jackson, Engram and even Bannister can all be mismatches on our DB\'s either in speed or in size. If they have time to throw and get in front of the defender or behind the coverage then we will be hard pressed to slow them down. As MikeHawk stated, with Alexander pushing the middle of the line we will be okay against the run. It\'s the outside run that gets our young LBers overpursuing and taking poor angles. I think we\'ll be okay in the center gaps.

Just opposite, we will make for a long day in the trenches against the Seattle defense, as they will be sick of Deuce\'s 5-7 yard carries. We should have little trouble moving the ball.

The Saints should be okay against the run. Can\'t see Alexander rushing for 100+ yards.
Three keys to victory:
* Pass rush
* Turnovers (the only stat the 2002 defense ranked high in, and it also won some games for example against the 49ers)
* Avoiding penalties, especially on the offensive side

Ball control isn\'t my first concern. If Brooks can find ways to attack their depleted secondary just go for it. The Saints can win this one with 25 minutes possession.